Gentleman's Magazine News Reports

Gentleman’s Magazine News Reports offers a vivid historical panorama drawn from the original pages of the world’s first modern periodical. Among its most remarkable early American pieces are the July 1776 printing of the Declaration of Independence, contemporary coverage of the Boston Tea Party (Jan 1774), and eyewitness reporting on Lexington and Concord (June 1775). It printed the Olive Branch Petition (Sept 1775), the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (Aug 1775), and later Washington’s election, state address, and his farewell as Commander-in-Chief. European events are no less vivid: the storming of the Bastille, March on Versailles, and execution of Louis XVI are all captured in real time. Musical milestones include reviews and obituaries for Mozart (1791), Beethoven (1813, 1827), and a live Handel performance (1751). Scientific and global firsts appear too: Newton's letter on calendars (1755), Franklin’s lightning rod experiments (1750–52), and the first Montgolfier balloon flight (1783). Obituaries of Jane Austen, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Robert Burns stand beside military dispatches from Waterloo, Trafalgar, and Yorktown. From colonial Australia’s founding to the hanging of Dick Turpin, this collection captures the full sweep of Enlightenment, revolution, and empire—page by page, as it happened.